The People Have Spoken! (Ignore Them)

A screen shot of the bulletin board of “I Am a Singer,” which is full of complaining comments on the Sunday’s episode in which audience’s vote was overruled.

The hot debate topic in South Korea’s online world: How many chances does a singer deserve?

The TV show “I Am a Singer” has a simple and familiar premise. Each week singers perform and the studio audience of 500 votes. Every other week, based on the votes, one of the singers is eliminated.

Or not.

Sunday, in the first try for the system — the show had its debut earlier this month — Kim Kun-mo was voted off, and instead elected to stay.

To be fair, Mr. Kim has become one of the nation’s most-respected singers over the past two decades. When the audience decision was announced, confusion, embarrassment and shock — even anger — were palpable among the contenders onstage. One female singer charged out of the hall, declaring she couldn’t accept the result.

The vote seemed to confuse the show’s producers even more, leading them to a decision that undercuts the program’s basic point. They reversed the audience ruling and left it to Mr. Kim to decide whether to leave the show. And he decided to stick around.

In a way, it’s not such a surprise. Korea is still largely run by seniority, rather than merit. Young people are expected to give seniors their full respect, often regardless of performance. Mr. Kim, in his mid-40s, is the oldest contestant.